Fall SPOT is as much a part of Houghton culture as are lanky white boys playing the acoustic guitar, so naturally this year’s show was hyped to be the perfect sendoff for Homecoming 2016. Having experienced six of these during my tenure as a student, as both performer and audience-member – overall, I’d call this one a success, though sure, there may have been a number of missteps over the near-ninety-minute running time.
Hosts, Sarah Duttweiler ‘17 and Travis Trotman ‘17, exuded a palpable energy onstage, doubling down on their peppy “Purple vs. Gold” theme. They did the whole “shoot a video of the hosts frantically racing to SPOT, making it to the chapel, and then entering through the aisle doors as the video ends” thing, and as overdone of a concept as that may be, I couldn’t help but smile watching the two of them shimmy up to the stage in all of their wavy-armed, leg-flailing enthusiasm. Their overall contributions to the show were minimal as far as skits were concerned, but they did handle the job with a whimsical nonchalance.
The acts were a mixed bag, as has come to be expected. It is surely no easy task to cobble an act together in the three weeks between the first day of classes and the week of auditions, much less one that is original, funny, and well-orchestrated all at the same time. While several acts managed, only two of those conditions there were certainly a handful of acts that had me gasping for air between fits of laughter.
The way that Michael Carpenter declaimed “Smack it” again and again, reading Beyoncé’s 7/11, with equal parts drama and articulation had me absolutely rolling, regardless of the fact that I’d already basically seen the act several times before (and once again that night, strangely enough). The Impractical Shen Men skit was something I’d hoped to someday see in SPOT, and it did not disappoint. I’d love to see it again a few more times, next time maybe outside of Houghton or at another college campus (Roberts, let’s go). But my favorite act of the night had to be Bad Anniversary Presents, its success resting squarely on the shoulders of Ian Smith and Luke Duttweiler. Their originality, wit, and delivery easily made it the highlight of the show. Ian Smith, if you’re reading this, I would happily watch an act of you reading ingredients off the side of a cereal box. Kudos to you, sir.
Comedic acts aside, while Laura Johnson’s voice may have been noticeably absent from this fall’s SPOT there was certainly no lack of singers to fill the void. The pipes on some of these people, my word. Their voices were beacons of hope. Their voices were islands I wanted to live on. They were lighthouses I wanted to swim to. They were silverback gorillas in the Cincinnati Zoo and I wanted to protect them. All who sang, bless you. Now… there were a lot of you and variety is the spice of life, but there was admittedly an overabundance of singing acts, and some did fall a bit flat as a result.
Some acts, unfortunately, fell inordinately flat. Watching swing dancing is like watching the Presidential debates. When everything’s going well it’s a decent watch, but more often than not we spend the whole time waiting to see if something terrible is going to happen. It’s stressful. My favorite part of the Hannah Montana skit was watching a gangly freshman dancing up in front of the stage trying to cut a jig. And then there was THAT act. Yeah. That one. All I’m saying is that it would be great to stifle too much further tongue on tongue action moving forward to Spring SPOT, Snow Patrol notwithstanding (Just kidding guys, congrats on the new relationship).
Overall, it was fine, to me, a net positive. Inoffensive hosts, some hilarious skits, some amazing performances, and another fabulous turn by the SPOT band (Never stop, SPOT Band), were enough to balance out some of the cringier moments sprinkled throughout. It was a good night as far as good nights in Houghton are concerned, and for that I’d call it a success.